Dusk to Diamonds By Timothy Wenzel

 

Dusk to Diamonds

By

Timothy Wenzel

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

I have long been a fan of the work of Timothy Wenzel, I was Running Away in 2019, I rode with the Distant Horseman in 2016, but it all started with A Coalescence of Dreams back in 2012, and all the musical journeys in between have been sojourns of utter blissful contemporary instrumental music, now we arrive at one of the most beautiful collections of all time with the heart-warming release of Dusk To Diamonds.

This tale of plenty starts with the opening piece Ghost, a haunting reverie indeed can be found here, and I noted that the more I listened to this track the more I could feel from its delicate, but respectful arrangements, a memorable offering and one bathed in reflective nuances, so tender.

Listening to a Timothy Wenzel release is like Christmas coming early, as you know each and every track off this 12 track album is going to be just what you always wanted, like the almost folk style song  Opening, a redolent energy of less complicated times on sun kissed mountains, could be found here.

The title track is always one of my most favourite musical moments, it is when we hear the total overview of the album from the artist, and Dusk To Diamonds is a total classic, containing the sublime string work of Graeme Cullen on Cello and Jeff Haynes on percussion, if ever a track stood out as a fine creation in the art of contemporary instrumental music, this is the one you would point to.

Wenzel’s keyboards are his pen and paper, and each musical narrative has been cleverly thought out, much can be said for the sombre and almost classical tones of Our Stories, almost a Pavane of its time, hovering mournful strings and a wonderfully layered back drop of sound. This was one of my personal favourites from the release, and a divine Cello performance by Cullen can be found here too, it must be said.

Dusk To Diamonds is a journey across the sea of sincerity and love, and when we reach Ask Me To Stay, we find another incredibly moving track that has a nice build and progression, with a wonderfully melodic tapestry to its construction, a gentle performance, but one with a meaningful purpose.

The string sections on this album, like of Wenzel’s other works, are something to be truly admired, listen in-depth to this next offering entitled How Will You Know? You will find a careful beginning, but one that will unfold with a flute sound that is so tender.

As we step with great care and attention into the second half of the album we come across another personal favourite of mine in Enchanted, this mystical creation has a slight Celtic ethic to it, and a beautiful nature based energy about its construction, one that reminded me in parts of another great American contemporary artist in Holland Phillips.

Is it, we ask ourselves, time to Dance Forever, the clever percussive backdrop by Haynes added a layered dimension to this crafted offering, one that also contained the magical hands of Jill Haley in the mix, and this symbiotic partnership weaved it’s almost sixteenth century spell across my imagination; a wonderful combination of creation and manifestation can be found here.

 A track with a certain purpose is up next and called Awaken Me, at six and a half minutes this would be the longest piece off the release and rightly so, this may well go down as an anthem for the artist, its smooth tones and refrains spin a web of freshness and life across the window of the day ahead, listen also to the rustic vibes created by sublime violinist Josie Quick.

The mist slowly clears across the pathway to reveal a cemetery long since fallen into decay, barren branches of trees wave in the autumn wind, as we watch the Dance of the Dead. I just keep piling up the favourites, but this one is another stand out for me, and film score standard with ease, the haunting sounds and vocals are amazingly enhanced by the efforts of both Vicki Smith and the Teen Angels, this is a must listen to, leave on repeat composition, one that I shall revisit many times over.

The curiously entitled Fox and Butterfly is up next, this vibrant yet chilled penultimate offering sits proud as yet another wonderfully manifested slice of classic instrumental music, to date I don’t think I have found an album this year, that upon it so many favourite pieces sit, and yes, this is another one. Hats off to Jeff Haynes here, adding a wonderful layer of classy percussion.

Amazingly we have come to the end of our musical journey with the artist and we end this voyage with one final piece, and that track is entitled Walking So Sweetly, textures of music from ancient times and a gently weaved instrumental moment of utter dedication, Haley is sublime on this track, while Wenzel finishes with an utter top notch performance, bathed in complete honesty and love.

I had been longing to get my hands on a copy of Dusk to Diamonds by Timothy Wenzel and now I have, I feel I can state on the record that I believe this album to be the best work done so far by the artist. Wenzel has captured the art of composing reflective pieces with such precision on this album, that I believe the journey to its final manifestation may well have been a cathartic one for the artist too.

Dusk to Diamonds by Timothy Wenzel is a must have album for all lovers of truly good music, as wonderfully created moments of musical reflection can all be found here.